The San Francisco 49ers are in the midst of a rebuild and their victory over the New York Giants was their first success this season. Under Head Coach Kyle Shanahan and General Manager John Lynch, which players have a future and where does the team need to strengthen? Are the 49ers even on their way to the Contender?
The good news at the front: unlike other teams, the 49ers’ front office is calm and mutual trust. After eleven weeks, San Francisco has a record of 1-9, and with nine defeats at the start of the season, San Francisco has had the worst start in the franchise’s history. However, owner Jed York gives his staff the time to form a new, competitive team.
“The future of this franchise will be built on their (Shanahans and Lynch’s, Note) visions, and we are all looking forward to watching them at work over the next few years,” said York at the launch of his new head coach, whom he signed directly for six years,”They will inject the team with a culture that allows them to constantly compete for championships.
Expectations of the Niner Empire were not very low before the season, mainly due to Shanahan’s past. Previously, he spent two years with Atlanta Falcons, the team with the best offense of the past season. A little offensive spectacle was also expected in the Bay Area – at least a small one.
But the historic bad start to the season caused frustration in the team. Left tacklele Joe Staley’s frustration with the New York Giants on the eve of the game was positive,”I’ve seen a lot of good players and coaches, including many less good ones,”said Staley in a speech to the entire team,”What we’re building here may not seem amazing to outsiders. But believe me, we’re so close to winning (games).”
He should be right. In Week 10, the first win of the season was won against crisis-ridden Giants from New York,”which means a lot to us,” said Staley after the match. The team spirit is therefore good, especially because the players know that the 49ers have a plan for the future.
This plan calls for a quarterback named Jimmy Garoppolo. He will most likely take on the role of starter next year, while C. J. will continue to play the role of starter. Beathard acts as a backup. However, Garoppolo will still be used in this season as well. Above all, those in charge want to see what Garoppolo is really capable of before offering him a new contract at the end of the season. Against the Seahawks on Sunday, however, he will once again be seated on the bench.
But the 26-year-old is working hard for his debut in the Niners jersey. While most of the rest of the squad used the Bye-Week for a few days of family time out, Garoppolo stayed in the Bay Area for extra training sessions,”He knows a few plays,”said Shanahan,”but it’s not just about the pass moves, he has to be able to make the right decisions in the play action. C. J. (Beathard) has been working to our specifications for ten weeks, but Jimmy’s doing his best to catch up.”
The 49ers, however, do not want to send the former Brady backup to the field too hastily. On the one hand, Shanahan’s playbook is considered one of the most complex in the league, which takes time to internalize. On the other hand, Garoppolo would be exposed to a certain risk of getting worse injured in a season where it’s all about the order of the coming draft. The offensive line allowed a total of 82 hits against Beathard and Brian Hoyer – together with the Indianapolis Colts the worst score of the league.
Players in the middle, such as Guard’s sheet Tomlinson, Brandon Fusco and Center Daniel Kilgore, have not been able to score much so far. Trent Brown is still one of the most talented players in San Francisco’s squad and has already been a right tackle for the coming season with strong performances. Staley also played good matches, but at the age of 33 he is one of the older players.
On the wideouts, star receiver Pierre Garcon had to end his season with a break in the neck spine, which is why Marquise Goodwin and Rookie Trent Taylor saw several passes. Meanwhile, the former long-jumper even leads the league with 21.7 yards per reception, making the former long-jumper one of the better obligations from the past Free Agency.
San Francisco has so far shown itself to be very defensive. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that the defense received a lot of deployment time due to the inefficient offense. Injuries on the defensive line, such as those of Tank Carradine and Arik Armstead, as well as the failures of the safeties Jimmie Ward and Jaquiski Tartt, meant that few inexperienced players were suddenly on the field – with mixed success. But there are also some other players who have excelled at building up a solid defense in the coming off-season.
In the D-Line, the 2016 first-round pick, DeForest Buckner, seems to be a man for the future:”He’s very good against both the run and the passes,” enthuses his coach Shanahan. But every coach will see on the tapes how well he gets into the backfield and can influence the game.”
Behind this, Linebacker Reuben Foster has the best chance of becoming a central pillar in the Niners Defense – if he stays healthy. The 23-year-old missed the pre-season due to a shoulder injury. Only in Week 9 did he play his first match over the full distance, also against the Giants he was in the starting line-up. In both matches he recorded the most tackles of all 49ers.
K’ Waun Williams was so persuaded by the position of the nickel baker that he had already been awarded a three-year contract at the end of September:”Ever since K’ Waun joined us, he has evolved from day to day,”said Lynch after the contract was renewed,”We wanted to make sure that he is part of what we are trying to build here.”.
Until Week 11, San Francisco will be the team that relies most on its draft picks from last April. With 2,874 snaps, the 49ers’ rookies have seen by far the most, while those of the second and third place Saints and Jets have 2,213 and 1,858 moves. Of course, many rookie bets were caused by injuries from the regular player, but the 49ers give their youngsters plenty of time to rebuild.
In the upcoming draft, Frisco has nine picks to play for sure, in the first round the Niners seem to be in the top 3. The Californians probably have the greatest demand for defensive backs, pass rushers and the already mentioned inner offensive linemen. Shanahan could also consider reinforcements next to Pierre Garcon on the wide receiver’s position.
With Jimmy Garoppolo as the presumed quarterback solution for the coming season, completely new possibilities open up here in any case: San Francisco no longer has to spend the first (or another high) pick for a passer-by. If there are no overly talented defenders (such as some Myles Garrett in the past draft), you could even trade the high pick against a number of lower ones, and gain broadly in the problem zones mentioned above.
In addition, the 49ers, with an available amount of almost 100 million dollars in the salary cap, have many opportunities to strengthen their position in the Free Agency. The contracts of some players will only run until next February, and Lynch and Shanahan haven’t been afraid of rebuilding in the past.
In addition to Garoppolo, Safety Eric Reid and Running Back Carlos Hyde will also become free agents at the end of the season. These three probably have the best chance of continuing to play football in San Francisco. Here is the complete list of players who don’t have a contract for the coming season:
It was clear from the outset that Shanahan’s mechanisms needed time to take hold. The fact that it was not enough for a single win in the first nine games of the season should not be a problem. Many of these games were lost very rarely, and the current season was supposed to be subordinated to the rebuild anyway.
This restructuring has started well, the 49ers have some talented players in their ranks, around which they can build a good team and they were able to get their quarterback before the quarterback carousel turns in the spring. There is money for reinforcements from the Free Agency, and the 49ers also have some draft picks that they will use to expand their squad.
The mood is good in San Francisco, especially after the first win of the season. In the second season under Shanahan, the Niners can already be expected to do much more, and their offensive concepts should then be increasingly easier to implement.
Maybe team owner York will be right – and we will soon see a completely different team from the Bay Area. One that will play for championships.